Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Badass for Armageddon

Margaret, or “Maggie”, Falling Skies

I love Falling Skies. There’s something so inherently real
about it. Yeah sure, the idea of aliens and space travel aside, what would
actually happen if the Earth were invaded by a violent race? Would human beings
be able to put aside our differences and unite to fight for our home? I’ve
often wondered if we could bring it down to the core fundamentals of what it means
to be human or if we’ve grown too self-aggrandizing to change. We are supremely
stratified as a culture, in America alone. Across the world, even more so. In
fact, I just saw an MSNBC show on a security company that fortifies
billionaire’s homes with panic rooms and 12-gauge shotgun mounts hidden inside
walls to kill intruders. The proprietor of this firm joked that the last people on Earth would be
the billionaire and his family holed up in the mansion stocked full for
Armageddon. Is that right? Or even fair? Why do the rich get to survive the
Apocalypse?

And what about the Doomsday Preppers? Are they really that
crazy or might they have the right idea? If what happened in the backstory to Falling Skies actually occurred and a race came to stripmine Earth of its
resources and people then, yeah they sure did. These 'crazies' would be the people that
might lead the rest of humanity to salvation. They’d be the regular guys, the
hunters, the former military and law enforcement, maybe even criminals
who’ve learned survival by any means. Throw in a few Call of Duty fanatics who
learned strategic guerilla warfare by default and we might have a chance if our
active-duty military is decimated. That is if we could just stop being selfish
human beings for long enough to band together and organize. But it often takes millennia for humans to change.

The story of the human connection and the will to fight has always been popular. The underdog story, or the reluctant hero character trope. On Falling Skies, one of the most interesting personalities is a
secondary character that came in quietly after the first few episodes and made
her presence known. Her name is Maggie, we don’t know her last name, nor does
it really matter, the conventions of society have gone to Hell. But if you look
at it with a critical eye, she has no last name because she is just "Maggie", the
young woman who has survived on her own recognizance and wherewithal. All she
has is herself. She’s a total badass.

We first see Maggie as a member of Pope’s gang, a rival and
antagonist to our educated and honorable hero Tom Mason. Pope is everything
that Tom is not. But Maggie is painted in shades of gray. We don’t know where
she stands or if we should trust her until she whips out her guns and shoots
two of the gang members in the heart to help Tom and Anne escape. One was Pope’s
brother. Turns out he’d been raping her since they took her in for
‘protection’. It was implied that they’d all molested her in some way, but
never really spelled out. (Side note: rape as a character developer has come
under much scrutiny in the prequel story of Tomb Raider and has many people in
an uproar. I may or may not do a post on this as I find the whole notion of
rape as entertainment abhorrent. But check this link out in the meantime.)

Nevertheless, her experience with the gang has added to her hardness. If you look closely and pay attention though, she was tough even before Pope’s gang. She was just biding her time. We find out later that she survived cancer in her youth and this is what actually made her the mature, world-weary young woman she is now.

Once she joins the 2nd Mass, a regiment in the
Massachusetts Militia, we see that Maggie is a skilled fighter. She can handle
a gun as if she was trained to do so. She rides motorcycles and is a strong hand-to-hand fighter. Most importantly, she goes into battle without fear. She carries herself tall and with a brick-sized chip
on her shoulder. This season, we’ve seen a bit of a lighter side with her
smiling and teasing. Her sarcasm is right up front and center but she’s a good
soldier and follows orders because she believes in the cause.

Of course, what badass on TV is complete without the
gorgeous looks? She’s blonde and beautiful. She’s a tiny scrap of a thing but
damn can the girl wear a leather jacket and motorcycle boots like a pro. She’s
got tattoos on her arms and usually walks around with messy hair. I love this
because seriously, there’s got to be a lack of hygiene products and water.
These women don’t have time to worry about eyeliner or if their armpits stink. Aliens have invaded the planet. They've got bigger things to stress over. One of the coolest things about Maggie, played by Sarah Carter, is that sexy, gravelly voice. She's got
“dirt” in her voice as Adam Levine once described Juliet Simms’s on The Voice. It’s raw and earthy and just
does something to you. And I’m not even into girls.

This brings us to the love interest, or partner. Hal, Tom
Mason’s son: cute, affable, boy becoming a man and a soldier way earlier than
he should. He started out as impetuous and foolhardy but has grown into his
roll of squad leader. He follows orders and is fiercely protective of his two
younger bothers. He is often with Maggie on patrols, or scouting runs. They
work well together. I think it’s supposed to be implied that she’s taught him a
fair amount over the last few months (we’ve skipped ahead in time three months
between seasons). But there’s a flirtation there in their jokes. They smile a
lot at each other and tease one another. It’s one of the developing
relationships on the show and I for one would like to see it happen. They
compliment each other and I think that she could use a man who respects her
enough to fight along side of her, who was loyal and who might even treat her
like a girl every once in a while. Up to this point, he's denied that there's anything between them. We’ll see what happens, because Hal’s actual
girlfriend is still lingering around, harnessed and under the control of the
aliens. If she ever gets back, you can bet a triangle will exist.

I have to say, if an alien apocalypse ever occurs in my lifetime, I’d look
to Maggie to save my ass. Or at the very least teach me how to save my own. We
could all stand to figure out how to put our past behind us and find new ground
to flourish. It doesn’t matter where we came from, it matters what we do now
and the choices we make today. I won’t have a billion dollar panic room or 500
gallons of water stored in my basement. All I’ll have is me.

Pack your ‘go-bag’ and find your leather because you bet
your ass when you’re fighting off zombies and aliens, you want them to see you
coming and shiver in fear.

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About Me

Currently, I'm a high school digital art teacher. It is one of those love/hate things that pays the bills and sometimes makes me cry in the good way. I know that I've made a difference in kids' lives. One day, I will be a published writer, typing away on a my laptop as I sit on a beach house veranda with my dog at my feet and my husband making pina coladas in the kitchen.